Metropolitan Police Department – District of Columbia

Research shows that one of the challenges most police departments face in developing

and implementing community policing strategies is forming and maintaining partnerships

with the community. The challenge of partnership building is real among all classes of

people. In upper-class neighborhoods, citizens feel no need for such partnerships because

of the low crime rate while in lower class neighborhoods, citizens are either too busy

trying to make ends meet or are distrustful of the police due to past experiences. In most

neighborhoods, it is often very difficult to get citizens to attend meetings as part of

partnership building.

In early 1997, the Metropolitan Police of the District of Columbia (MPDC) began to

incrementally implement community policing with the goal of preventing crime and fear

of crime. This requires working with citizens and others to help build safe and healthy

neighborhoods throughout the District of Columbia. When Chief Charles Ramsey took

over the leadership of the police department in April 1998, he set an ambitious goal of

making the Nation’s Capitol the safest city in America.

To accomplish this goal, the department adopted Policing for Prevention as the new

strategy of community policing for the city. This strategy is founded on the basic building

blocks of community policing -- partnerships, problem solving and information sharing.

Policing for Prevention is designed to include a larger collection of resources to target a

broader range of problems. It helps to stabilize communities through neighborhood-based

problem solving, and it promotes long-term prevention by addressing the underlying

causes and conditions that often lead to crime.

The Policing for Prevention strategy has three main parts: 1) Focused Law Enforcement,

requires the police to respond to calls for service and enforce the law; 2) Neighborhood

Problem Solving, requires the police and other enforcement agencies such as Department

of Public Works (DPW) and Department of Consumer Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) to

work with citizens and other non-enforcement city agencies to identify and address crime

and disorder problems; and 3) Systemic Prevention, addresses the underlying causes and

conditions that contribute to crime and disorder. While the police primarily handle the

enforcement part, the other two components require a strong collaborative relationship

and information sharing between the police, citizens, businesses, and other city agencies.

The District of Columbia is divided up into 83 Police Service Areas (PSA’s). The

Metropolitan Police Department has assigned at least one Lieutenant, two Sergeants and

18 – 24 police officers to each PSA. Each PSA is unique in terms of demographics and

crime and disorder problems. Under the Policing for Prevention strategy, each PSA

works with city agencies, citizens, and other community stakeholders to identify crime

and disorder problems and to develop collaborative strategies for addressing them. For

this to be successful, the citizens must be directly involved in designing the strategies and

carrying them out.

The District of Columbia has one of the most diverse populations in the nation. Based on

1998 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 34 percent of the 523,124 residents is white,

62.3 percent is black, 3.0 percent is Asian or Pacific Islander, 7.2 percent is Hispanic, and

less than 1 percent is American Indian. Nearly 23 percent of the residents live below the

poverty level. Getting these diverse communities to work in partnership with the police

and with one another presents a challenge for the Policing for Prevention strategy.

Adding to the challenge is the limited access to technology for many individuals and

organizations in our community. In a recent presentation, Steve Case of American On

Line stated that 75 percent of households with incomes over $75,000 own computers,

while only ten percent of our poorest families do. According to Mr. Case, the Internet is

becoming as central to everyday life as the telephone and the television. Still, only 53

percent of U.S. households own a PC, and only 37 percent have online access.

The problem facing MPD is one of building, sustaining and informing the partnerships

necessary to address crime and disorder problems in the PSA's. This requires that

partners are in every contact and can interact on a routine basis.

One of the tools that is critical in developing and maintaining good partnerships is

effective communication. In furtherance of neighborhood problem solving and systemic

prevention components of Policing for Prevention, MPDC proposes to enhance

communication between the police, citizens and other city agencies and businesses

through the proposed PSA Online Project. PSA Online seeks to establish a strong

communication network that allows police, citizens, and other agencies to maintain

virtual contact with each other.

MPDC plan to use the funding from this program to purchase and equip each of the 83

PSAs with the New Internet Computer, the NIC for two community-based organizations

and/or active citizens. The NIC is designed to support popular plug- ins like Real Player,

Java and Macromedia Flash Player, so it’s just as Internet-capable. It is easy to use and

the representatives in each PSA can readily access the MDPC and other City Web sites.

The individuals and organizations will use the Nick’s to access information about their

neighborhoods, to share information with others in the community, as well as to provide

crime and disorder information to the PSA Lieutenant.

The participants in the PSA Online project will serve as facilitators of the PSA. They will

be tasked with specific responsibilities, including assisting with recruiting citizens for

community meetings, outreach programs, problem identification, problem solving, and

other activities that enable the citizens to participate more fully in the community

policing strategy. We envision this as a way of “putting the community into community

policing”. PSA Online will allow the sharing of MPDC’s PSA plans with partners as well

as sharing other critical information between the community and the police.

MPDC envisions that the PSA Online project will influence the Policing for Prevention

strategy in a number of significant ways. First and foremost, it will improve

communication and information sharing among citizens and the police at the PSA levels

as well as with other city agencies. This, in turn, will help strengthen the partnership for

problem solving in each of the PSAs. Second, the improved communication through PSA

Online will lead to an increased closure rate for crimes committed in the city. The timely

information provided by citizens will be invaluable to the police in their investigations. A

third, and final, outcome of PSA Online is a reduction in crime and disorder problems in

the city.

As the Metropolitan Police Department implements its Policing for Prevention strategy, it

is focusing on strengthening its link to community organizations and activists. Within

MPDC, the 83 PSAs are relatively small geographic areas where problem solving takes

place. The PSAs function as the organizational unit with the closest interaction with the

community. Innovative communications strategies and programs will play a pivotal role

in encouraging community participation and enhance problem-solving partnerships.

This project presents an innovative method of using technological tools to support

neighborhood problem-solving efforts. It combines community access to Internet-based

services with the functionality of obtaining essential police and citywide information on

line and to provide information to the police and other city agencies. This approach will

also provide information from the community to the police and other city agencies. PSA

Online is an innovative approach to using the Internet to promote public safety and to

meet the challenges associated with the “Digital Divide”.

Connecting the PSA’s directly to community groups and residents through the Internet

provides the PSA Lieutenants the opportunity to establish a two-way, multifunctional

communication link through the PSAs’ web pages. MPDC will transmit notifications of

crime trends in the community as well as notices for PSA and Problem Solving meetings.

Residents will also have access to PSA problem- solving action plans as a part of the

Partnerships for Problem Solving Initiatives. Internet access will provide residents an

opportunity to participate in virtual town meetings, to post and comment on identified

problems and proposed solutions in their own neighborhoods.

By involving community organizations and individual activists through PSA Online,

MPDC is essentially decentralizing police-community interaction, planning and

community problem solving. Brainstorming solutions online with residents, allowing

residents to track Departmental progress, getting feedback on non-emergency service

requests, and obtaining timely emergency information are the exciting approaches that

PSA Online will bring to the citizens of the District of Columbia.

In developing PSA Online, MPDC reviewed several other police department websites to

build on the experiences of other police technology initiatives. Our review of Internet

web sites for the New York and Los Angeles Police Departments show the use of

community-based information by neighborhood in geographical areas similar to the

District’s PSA structure. See Appendix A for samples of the use of current use of Internet

technology by policing agencies.

The advantage of PSA Online over the common use of such sites involves the interactive

exchange of information that improves upon the one-way “bulletin board”

announcements that are commonly used to convey information to communities. PSA

Online will serve as a model for policing agencies that are interested in making their sites

serve as a resource for increased community involvement, as well as a source of

information. PSA Online will provide an example of how these law enforcement agencies

can move forward toward active exchange of id eas and information. To that end, MPDC

will carefully document the development and implementation process to build a “lessons

learned” document.

Some of the methods MPDC will utilize to disseminate the lessons learned from PSA

Online will include the following:

Conferences

Communications Officers

Association of Public Administrators

PSA Online represents a model for enhancing community crime-solving efforts that could

be utilized by police organizations across the nation. The Metropolitan Police Department

is proposing to link its Patrol Service Area (PSA) units to community activists and

organizations through the Internet. By utilizing existing organizational links between the

PSA and the community and enhancing the communication, this proposal presents a cost

effective and unique method of improving the quality of life for many of our citizens

currently disenfranchised by the “Digital Divide.”

Within MPDC’s organizational structure, the PSA is located at the neighborhood level.

At present, hundreds of community organizations and individual activists, ranging from

religious leaders to children and family advocates and local elected officials, work with

PSA officers through the Partnership for Problem Solving training provided by MPDC.

These organizations and individuals work together with the police to improve the quality

of life in their neighborhood. While some of the organizations have Internet access, many

do not.

The mutual interests of community organizations and the PSAs -- combined with the

current explosion of Internet technology -- presents MPDC with a unique opportunity to

improve the flow of information to the community while advancing our efforts to prevent

and combat crime. There is much talk these days about the Digital Divide, yet few actual

solutions. The TOP grant provides a basis to narrow that gap in a way that can be easily

replicated in communities across the nation.

The Parks and Recreation Department is establishing 26 Computer Learning Centers

throughout the city. These recreation centers attract large number of community people –

especially youth and seniors – who play a key role in promoting problem and crime

solving efforts. MPDC plans therefore, to provide two Nick’s to each of the centers and

make PSA Online available to residents in those communities.

Linking the PSA’s and the community groups via the web will require modifications to

the MPDC Home Page. Specifically, MPDC will add a PSA Online link from its home

page that will connect each organization or individual to its respective PSA. In addition,

MPDC will develop PSA Web pages and content in Microsoft Front Page for each of the

PSAs. Front page will allow for easy page development and content maintenance by PSA

staff.

In addition, the MPDC will provide the Nick’s to two organizations and/or individuals

within each PSA. The selection of organization or individuals will be based on welldefined

criteria to be developed by MPDC in consultations with members of District

Advisory Committees and other community leaders. The Nick’s will include state-of-theart

equipment: Pentium III Processor at 600 MHz, 15-inch monitor and 56K modem.

Internet connection will also be provided by MPDC. The Nick’s will be configured to

start-up on the MPDC Home Page, and then, the user will link to PSA page.

Users will utilize both the MPDC Home Page and the Web pages developed for each

PSA. The community-based users will communicate with the PSA either directly through

the Web site chat room or through e- mail. Brainstorming sessions can then be held online

to solve problems and to report nuisance type activities as well as major crime

intelligence data. Appendix B provides an overview of the proposed technical

architecture. In addition, Appendix C illustrates the MPDC organizational structure.

From the PSA home page, the user can also link to the District government home page to

request various services such as trash pick- up, driver license information, and other city

services. PSA Online will, thereby, contribute to a community-based government

environment.

By using the Internet to provide connectivity, the communication infrastructure is

“infinitely” scalable and fully interoperable. MPDC will require that users follow

established procedures for loading new applications that could affect interoperability and

scalability. The basic design allows the future PSA Online to be expanded to many new

users on an annual basis, contingent on budget constraints and availability of private

funds. MPDC will develop Standard Operating Procedures for the project.

MPDC will maintain the purchased Nick’s through vendor maintenance agreements and

through its internal help line. Web page content management will be overseen through

the District Commanders, the Office of Organizational Development, and the Office of

Corporate Communications. Updating the content will be the responsibility of the PSA

Lieutenant, who commands MPDC resources within the PSA and heads the local PSA

Committees. The Recreation and Parks Department will be responsible to MPDC for

maintaining and securing the Nick’s on their property.

Over the past year and a half, MPDC has made significant advances in developing its

information technology infrastructure. Specifically, the department installed almost 1,500

new desktop computers, enhanced its network, launched several new applications, and

has installed mobile data computers in patrol cars. Moreover, the Department established

a new Help Desk for computing and network-related troubleshooting. In addition, MPDC

has invested in new management, recently hiring a new team with a successful track

record to provide ongoing supervision and improvement to the information technology

infrastructure. (Refer to Appendix E for Project Team Identification.) These experiences

make MPDC uniquely qualified to develop, implement, and maintain the proposed

system for PSA Online.

The Metropolitan Police Department will implement this project over a 24-month period.

The major components of the project include the following:

five months of the TOP Grant award.

launched within six months of the TOP Grant award.

the award

The basis for sustaining PSA Online is MPDC’s and the District government’s

commitment to the community-policing initiative. As this initiative develops over time,

PSA Online will be enhanced and improved to include greater numbers of people and

individuals directly communicating with their local PSA unit over the Internet.

MPDC has made a significant commitment to community policing. The Department has

aligned its organization to facilitate implementation of this approach, by providing

training to officers, and committing funding and management support to enhancing the

information technology infrastructure and computer applications needed to support this

effort. PSA Online is the next critical component of this effort to “bring the community

into community policing.” Based on its internal technology and management capabilities,

MPDC clearly has the ability to develop, implement, maintain and sustain PSA Online.

During the past year and a half, MPDC has been working very closely with communitybased

organizations in their Partnerships for Problem Solving training. As of now,

approximately 1400 community residents representing local organizations have

participated in the training conducted in 55 of the 83 PSAs. These organizations include

Civic Associations, Non-Profit Organizations, Public Housing Resident Councils, Senior

Citizen Groups, etc. (A sample of the community-based organizations is listed in

Appendix E.) The demand for the services proposed by the PSA Online project is

evidenced by the letters of support in Appendix J.

The proposed PSA Online is designed to enhance the involvement of the community in

MPDC’s Partnership for Problem Solving activities. The plan is select two communitybased

organizations or active residents in each of the 83 PSA’s to participate in the

project. The criteria for selecting the organizations and residents will ensure equal

participation. Community leaders including members of the District Advisory

Committees, COPSAC Citizen Advisory Board in consultation with MPDC will develop

well-defined criteria for the selection of host organizations or individuals. Host

organizations and individuals will participate in orientation training in the operation of

the hardware and software. The selection criteria requirements will comply with the

Americans with Disabilities Act standards to ensure removal of barriers limiting access to

end-users with disabilities in public facilities. The placement of two Nick’s at the 26

Parks and Recreation Learning Centers will also ensure that all residents have access to

the information sharing that would be available on PSA Online. The proposed PSA

Online design will include an on- line tutorial for intermediate and advanced end-users.

Pictorial manuals and a help desk telephone number will be available on site for new endusers.

Capital Communities are neighborhoods in transition that are targeted for the investment

of capital resources. The goal is to build safe, healthy and revitalized ne ighborhoods and

transform them into first rate “Capital Communities.” There are currently six Capital

Communities, one located in six separate police districts. Outreach Coordinators, funded

by the Byrne Memorial Formula Block Grant, located in each Capital Community, will

outreach under-represented minorities (including Hispanic and Asian-Pacific islanders)

and refer them to host organizations and individuals in their efforts to institutionalize

collaborative problem solving with community, police and city agencies. Outreach efforts

will initially focus Capital Communities where model projects will be developed to

support neighborhood problem solving efforts and later expanded to all 83 PSAs.

Each component of MPDC’s community-policing initiative, including the creation of

PSA Online has been developed, so that each respective impact and outcome can be

evaluated separately. The overall design of PSA Online provides an integrated capability

to collect and disseminate data in a form that can be used to establish its impact on the

community as well as MPDC’s ability to reduce crime.

MPDC will employ a three-level process and outcome evaluation methodology. The first

level of evaluation will entail surveying and interviewing the end users through PSA

meetings to determine the contribution of PSA Online to meeting the overall goal of

reducing crime. The second level of evaluation will occur internally at MPDC. Sampson

Annan, Director of Research and Resource Development (RRD) in the Office of

Organizational Development, will coordinate the evaluation of PSA Online. RRD is the

research arm of MPDC. It plays a key role in working with District and PSA commanders

to define and measure outcomes related to community policing efforts.

MPDC plans to select one of the local universities, on a competitive basis to conduct

process and impact evaluation of the project. The evaluation will seek to answer the

following questions:

neighborhood?

solving activities?

MPDC anticipates that PSA Online will become a model for police departments across

the country. Utilizing a unique two-way communication approach through the Internet

makes PSA Online a test-bed for community policing.